Just After the Fall

by Eric James-Olson

In the fight for their lives, an explosion ripped Maria away from Lawrence. Disbelief, devastation, despair: In that moment, Lawrence could feel nothing else.

In, Just After the Fall, Lawrence is thrown into a hostile wilderness pursued by Armored Drone Soldiers, befriended by the savages he was trained to kill, and haunted with doubt as to whether Maria was really there when their home went up in flames.

Just After the Fall is a story of betrayal and redemption. It is a story of love and searching for those left behind.

181 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2014

About the author

Eric James-Olson writes novels and short stories. His first five books, But the Angels Never Came, Farmers and Cannibals, Just After the Fall, The Church Peak Hotel: Revisited, and Whom Cain Slew (November 2016) exist within the same fictional universe and are written by the same fictional author. Currently, James-Olson is working on a coming-of-age novel set in central Maryland.

In addition to writing, James-Olson is a high school English teacher, an outdoor enthusiast, and an amateur woodworker. He lives with his wife and daughter in West Virginia.

Check out the website: http://ericjamesolson.com/

And don't forget the Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/ericjamesolson

Reviews

[Jola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com

I liked the characters of Maria and Lawrence in 'Farmers and Cannibals' so I was truly happy when I learned this one is about them. It was a nice story of their love and it also tied nicely with the other stories in this series. It's always good to know what Abraham is up to :).

Thanks to Eric James-Olson for sending me a copy of the book!

[Katrina Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the commitment and undying love between Lawrence and Maria. I love a true love story with pure commitment and not letting anything get in their way to be reunited. This would have to be my favourite part of the book. I haven’t read ‘Farmers and Cannibals’ as yet, so this book was my first introduction to them.

I also enjoyed the story’s plots and twists and the sneaky cult-like behaviour and the way it was portrayed, especially in the part where Abraham laughs. This behaviour I think was well portrayed as it was also well portrayed in ‘But The Angels Never Came.’ It is almost like the author has had first hand experience.

Thanks for the great read.

[Jacek Slay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got mixed feelings for this book for a while. I was well aware what I was going to read so when I saw it's a "romance" I wasn't the happiest guy on the planet. But then again, there isn't really that much of a romance in here - and when there is, it's well hidden somewhere in the background.
I liked the story nonetheless. It's a pretty good novel reminding me of post-apo things like Fallout. I haven't read the previous books of Eric James-Olson so I don't really know if there are any mistakes in timeline but, let's be honest, this book totally made me want to read the rest of it.
And the flow. The flow is great. It's that kind of a book which you can easily read in one fell swoop.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the author for an honest R&R.

See a slightly different review on my blog: www.blueeyebooks.blogspot.com

I'm actually rating this a 3.5 for a few reasons.

1) I was going to say there wasn't really any world-building but I just found out that this is actually the third book in a series. So maybe a link on the book title to the series would be in order. So I really don't know about the world-building. Thinking about it now, if there is plenty of world-building in the first two books, then the settings in this book are absolutely perfect.

2) The jumps between past, present, and future were mostly made without any sort of defining characteristic (like a few words in the chapter title or a different font). This was slightly confusing as I read through. I would be several pages into a chapter and suddenly realize that it was in the past. So I would go back to the beginning of the chapter and read it again.

I really liked the chapters in the lecture hall. It really gave meaning to Lawrence's journey even if it wasn't particularly meaningful at first glance.

One other thing of note, I don't know if the author took inspiration from Brave New World, but I certainly saw similarities in the writing styles. Personally, it's not my favorite kind of writing style but it is pretty effective.

3.5 stars.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read Eric James-Olson's new novel.
Just After the Fall is a sequel and although I haven't read any of his other books, reading this one made me want to know about the story.
I really enjoyed the characters, especially Chet and Lawrence. The story was interesting and I liked the way the past and future kept switching during the story. I also liked the way Eric used biblical references and without giving too much away- no matter the year or situation people turn to religion and "cult leaders" in desperate times.
Eric has a great imagination and personally, if that's the future of the world, I do not want to be around to witness it.
I look forward to reading more of Eric's novels.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the Farmers and Cannibals series. Olson continues to flesh out the characters and their motivations in this series. In this novel we learn more about Lawrence and Maria. We also catch up with Abraham who has recovered from the events in the previous book to rally his troops for a new strategy. This book does not have the violence and gore that the other books contained; instead, Olson focuses on the characters and their relationships. This book picks up where Farmers and Cannibals left off and tells what happened after the epic battle at the farm, and what became of the survivors on both sides.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book reminded me of Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale, and Terminator. I wasn't fully committed to the characters, but what really drew me was the back and forth from present to future POV. It really made me question the effects the present story line had on the future society. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I completed the book that I learned that this was the third book in a series, which explained a lot for me. I will be going back to book one to start from the beginning.

Regardless, I really enjoyed this short read. I look forward to reading more from this series.

[Crislyn Kippes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style of this book and think I would have enjoyed it more if I had understood beforehand that it was one of a series. I hadn't read the previous books, but will go back and read them to get caught up! I think it speaks to the writing abilities of the author that I was able to enjoy the book as much as I did without having read the previous books in the series. I recommend this book - but only after reading the others ;).

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway.

Just After the Fall is the story of Laurence in the series of Farmers and Cannibals books. The story takes place after the destruction of the Farm and follows Laurence as he searches for Marie. The book is written as a reading during a sermon.

The story can be read by itself, although hints of further stories were all over the book and references to pervious books, although often, didn't prevent the story being told.

[MF · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often give 5 stars, but this was a very good read. I was totally there and could imagine each scene with ease. The writing was vivid and the plot was clever. It was a page turner and it made me think in new ways. The whole story stitched together beautifully and even though it was part of a series, I didn't feel lost with the story. I'd recommend it for a read, especially if you are into Sci Fi, religion or politics.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.I really enjoyed this book.The story of Maria and Laurence continues from Farmers & Cannibals along with a cult like leader.I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I was finished.The characters are well rounded and relatable and i found myself caring about their futures.I look forward to reading the rest of this authors work.

[Hollie Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, the plot was clever. The whole story was intriguing and even though it was part of a series, I didn't feel lost with the story. I'd definitely recommend this book.

[Sherri Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a "couldnt put it down" book. Very well written. The characters are interesting and the plot was extrordinary. I had to pass it on

[Tsubaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
-

So, this story follows directly after the events of Farmers and Cannibals which I have reviewed previously.

This was an extremely hard story to objectify and put into words. Mainly because the story itself wasn't particularly important. What was important though, was the implications of the story. So for what it's worth, I'm not going to review the story. Instead, I'm going to talk about the significance of it in the grand scheme of things. This book served several purposes as far as I could tell and those ranged from contextualizing past and future events to drawing the connection between the many plot points scattered throughout the books.

This book did a wonderful job of reconciling the two sides. The first book focused on the natives (cannibals) and the second book focused on the invaders (farmers). This book saw Lawrence, a survivor from the invader side, join the ranks of the natives. His new friends and dedication to finding Maria being the only things keeping him going. Unfortunately, I didn't find the romantic aspect or the characters all that engaging. Oh well, onto more interesting topics.

How do you breathe new life into tried and overused plot devices? By screwing with the narrative voice. I didn't think it was possible, but Just After the Fall had an even stranger layout than Farmers and Cannibals. Or, in this case, different aspects of the story were narrated by different voices at different points in time. This story had a nice overarching theme of philosophical and religious references. Essentially, if Abraham was the first coming (and El his God), Lawrence would be the second coming (for the lost ships abandoned by their God). Or something like that? I'll stop pretending I know anything about Christian mythology now… Anyways, the setting was much grander this time around, the significance of Lawrence's story was cross generational.

I loved that the reader wasn't babied throughout the story. A lot of what goes on was implicit. Enough to require thought, but not so much that I wanted to shred and burn the book for kindling. I honestly liked the way the story was laid out more than the actual story being told. That said, as interesting as it was, the whole thing did feel a little too gimmicky.

Still, give this book a try if you're looking for a break from the mundane and generic mass produced fiction.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the story of Maria and Lawrence in previous books, so I was excited to see that this book was mostly about them. They share a love that is everlasting and I loved how the author showed that without it being to much of a romance. This book continues a few stories, but mostly revolves around Maria and Lawrence shortly after the farm was invaded by the drones. Lawrence was found by Chet and George and taken back to their village, where he realizes that he was lied to about the people of the village. Lawrence believes that Maria is dead until he has a dream that she is telling him she's still alive. That's when they need to go back to the farm to access the situation with the drones and end up tracking Maria at the same time. We get to see both Lawrence and Maria's story of how they look for each other. I really enjoyed getting to hear the story from both perspectives.

[Beth Tidman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads first reads giveaway.

This was an enjoyable book to read. I quickly found myself lost in Lawrence's world as he searched for Maria and came to realize that the people that he had been trained to kill weren't the real enemy.
I definitely must read the previous books in the series along with any that come after.